Is there a way to access every chat log you've ever had?

[Zoya Braham]

I've been on SL for over 3 years, and I've used a couple of different computers in that process, so the chat logs start over. I was just curious as to if there were a way to access the old ones?

[Theresa Tennyson]

Saving chat logs is strictly done on the user's computer. If you just switched to a new computer and the old one is gathering dust or was given to someone you can borrow it from the old chat logs should still be on it. If the computer's gone or the viewer was uninstalled from that computer for some reason there's no way of getting them back though. If there's a specific person whose converasations you're interested in you could see if they'd be willing to send you a copy of their logs.

[Rolig Loon]

If you are talking about IM logs, they ought to be stored in a user file on your computer (or your ancient computers, wherever they are), at an address that looks like C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\SecondLife\rolig_loon . You would need to have set you Preferences to save those logs, of course. Most of us don't routinely save chat logs as well as IMs, because doing that adds to lag and uses up an incredible amount of disk memory in no time.  If you did save them for some reason, though, they ought to be in another folder in the same vicinity as the IM logs.

Linden Lab saves that same information as well. They use it, for example, in investigating abuse claims.  Again, however, they can't possibly store all that information for the thousands of SL residents for very long, because of storage limitations.  Even if they let you have access to the information --- a very unlikely if --- there's no way they're going to have logs that are 3 years old.

[Lindal Kidd]

It's like...if you had a lot of old emails on your old computer, and didn't move them over to your new computer, and then you wiped the old computer's hard drive and sold it to a Tibetan monk on eBay...

No.

Next time, when it comes time to reformat your hard drive or move in to a new computer, be more careful about what you choose to copy and save.

[Rolig Loon]

A Tibetan monk on eBay?